Anything For Family
by Ta1u1a
Summary: Maura's life is on the line when someone wants Jane to get Paddy Doyle out of prison. Set after season 4.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: I don't have cable and haven't seen any of season 5 of Rizzoli & Isles yet. Yes, I know what happens to Frost, but otherwise, I know nothing. Please ignore any possible conflicts with season 5. This story is set after season 4._

Jane waited on Maura outside her office. With Frankie borrowing Jane's car, Maura was her ride home. They had planned to get a late dinner at the Dirty Robber, but at the rate Maura was going, the bar would be closed by then.

"Maura, what are you doing?" Jane asked, a slight whine to her tone. "I'm starving!"

"What? I was just freshening up my make-up," Maura said as she joined Jane. She looked drop dead gorgeous as usual.

"We're just going to the Dirty Robber. Are you expecting to meet the future Mister Doctor Isles tonight?" Jane joked.

"I hardly think any man I would marry would take my name," Maura said with a scowl as they started on their way out of the building. "And I wouldn't take his. I already have a reputation attached to my name. What about you? Would you take your husband's name?"

"Well, I was gonna be Jane Jones. Sounds like I'd belong on one of those bad TV talk shows where everybody's cheating on everybody and trying to find out who the baby daddy is," Jane joked. She grimaced. "I know who my baby daddy is."

"Have you decided what you're going to tell Casey?"

"No, I haven't. What the hell do I say?" Jane replied. She leaned against the back of the elevator and folded her arms over her chest. "I know when I tell him, he'll want to come back. Then he'll either resent me for getting pregnant and forcing him to leave the army, or he'll try to force me to stop being a cop. Back to square one."

"You know what you could get me for my birthday?"

"Lessons on how to tactfully change the subject?" Jane asked as they stepped out of the elevator into the lobby.

"You can decide what to do about Casey," Maura said. "It's driving me crazy."

"I'm so sorry my unplanned pregnancy and canceled engagement are bringing you down," Jane said, not going easy on the sarcasm. "I'll see what I can do about that."

Maura chuckled and they headed out the front of the building.

"Hey Rizzoli!" Jane turned to see an officer poking his head out the front door of the building. "Cavanaugh's looking for you."

Jane sighed and rolled her eyes. She turned to Maura, who looked sympathetic.

"I can wait."

"No, go," Jane replied. "I have no idea what Cavanaugh wants. It could take a while. I'll have Korsak give me a ride home."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

Maura walked across the street toward her car. Jane turned to head back in the building but checked her messages first to see if Cavanaugh had tried to text or call her. As she reached for the door, the explosion ripped through the relative silence outside. The shock wave threw Jane up against the door of the building and she fell to her knees. When she turned, she saw destruction everywhere and Maura's car in flames.

"Maura," she said as she pushed herself onto her feet, trying to overcome the shock. Then she instinctively hurried toward the car and screamed, "Maura!"

When she was halfway across the street, a second explosion erupted from Maura's car. This time Jane was thrown backward to the ground with nothing to catch herself on. Her head hit the pavement and her world went black with the sounds of people screaming and a car burning ringing in her ears.

* * *

><p>Jane awoke in the hospital. She was lying alone on a bed in the emergency room. She recognized it. She had been there more than once due to the hazards of her job and the hazards of growing up a girl with two younger brothers in a blue collar family in Boston. Her head was pounding and it only took a minute to remember why. The memory of Maura's car exploding flashed in her mind's eye in vivid detail. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that her best friend, the closest thing she had ever had to a sister, was dead.<p>

"Oh god, Maura," she said as she choked back a sob. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to keep herself together. The last thing she wanted to do was break down alone in the emergency room. She wanted to leave. Jane didn't know very many details about what happened yet, but her gut instinct told her that this was a homicide. Maura would chide her for guessing. Guts didn't solve cases; science and evidence did. She closed her eyes as she heard an old conversation with Maura in her mind.

_"The next reddish brown stain, you call blood before the labs come in."_

_"You want me to lie?!" Maura asked, appalled at the suggestion._

_"No, I want you to state the obvious."_

Maura could be so infuriating sometimes. It was infuriating, but it was also one of the things Jane loved about her. So precise and meticulous. That particular nature helped them secure the evidence they needed to find their killers. This time they would have to rely on someone else to find the killer. Knowing their usual back-up medical examiners, Jane dreaded who they would be stuck with. She needed to get out of the hospital to hopefully minimize the damage someone like Vladimir Popov could do. Maura deserved better than that.

Yet Jane didn't leave because someone else was on her mind—her baby. She found the call button and hit it repeatedly hoping to get someone's attention quickly. Quickly didn't quite describe the response time of the young ER doctor who finally responded to her. He grabbed her chart to review why she was there.

"Detective Rizzoli," he greeted her. "How do you feel?"

"Like someone played basketball with my head, but I'm not really worried about that," she responded. "You probably didn't know this, but I'm pregnant."

"No, I didn't know about that," he responded. "How far along?"

"About four weeks," she replied. "But an explosion could cause me to miscarry, right?"

"It's possible, if you were close enough," he said. "We'll check things out and see if the baby's okay."

Jane laid back and waited. Once they had checked on the baby and determined it was fine, she was ready to leave. The doctor tried to convince her to stay for more tests.

"Doc, you're going to tell me I have a concussion and that I should rest, which I'm not going to do because I need to solve my friend's murder," Jane explained. "So lets save a lot of time and money, and please just check me out of here so I can get to work."

The doctor sighed and grabbed her chart. "Fine, but I'm noting that you're going against orders."

"Fine. I'm used to it. I do it all the time."

It took another 30 minutes before she was able to get out of the hospital. Even though her clothes were dirty and rumpled, she didn't bother going home. She went directly to headquarters in order to find Maura's killer. Maura spoke for the dead. Now Jane had to speak for Maura.

* * *

><p>Frost had checked the crime lab and the autopsy room, but he hadn't found who he was looking for yet. He paused in the autopsy room briefly when he saw the two CSRU staff bringing in the black bag that held the body of Maura Isles. All he could do was watch as they rolled the gurney toward cold storage. The autopsy wouldn't be done immediately, not until a new medical examiner was assigned. After the body bag was rolled out of sight, he continued his search.<p>

He was surprised when he noticed Susie sitting on the sofa in Dr. Isles' office. He was quiet enough that she didn't notice him, having her back turned to the door. She was crying, tissues in hand. Frost stepped in the doorway and cleared his throat. She turned quickly in surprise and wiped at her tears with a tissue.

"Susie, I'm sorry," he said, apologizing for what he perceived as an intrusion. "They just brought Dr. Isles' body in. I know you're not the ME, but is there anything you can do to get a jump start on the autopsy report?"

She sniffed and cleared her throat, trying to contain her emotions.

"There are some preliminary tests I can do," she replied. "I don't know how helpful they'll be."

"I'm sure they'll be a good start," he said. She didn't look very confident in that belief as she looked to the floor, sadness clear on her face. "Susie, Dr. Isles couldn't stand incompetence and expected nothing but the best. You were on her staff for a reason, and I'm sure she wouldn't want anyone else as senior criminalist investigating her murder."

"Do you think so?" Susie asked, her confidence bolstered a little bit.

"I know so," Frost said. Susie stood and smiled slightly. "You can do this."

"Okay," she said. "I'll see what I can do."

Frost smiled as she passed by him in the doorway, and then he headed back up to homicide to begin his own work on one of the most important homicide investigations he had ever worked.

* * *

><p>Two hours after the explosion Jane walked into the homicide unit, much to the surprise of everyone else.<p>

"Rizzoli, what the hell are you doing here?" Cavanaugh asked. "You're supposed to be at the hospital getting your head checked."

"I left. I'm not wasting hours at the hospital when I should be here finding Maura's killer," she said. She didn't mention the relief she felt when she was told her baby was okay. No one had the nerve to argue with her reasons for leaving the hospital, and she looked to Frost. "What do we know?"

"Bomb squad and CSRU are still working on the car. Replacement ME is on his way to do the autopsy," he replied.

"We're still waiting on the surveillance footage," Frankie continued. "Uniforms are interviewing witnesses."

"Which includes you, Rizzoli," Cavanaugh said. "What did you see?"

"Nothing," Jane said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. She sat at her desk, slouching in exhaustion in her chair. "My back was turned when the first explosion happened."

"What about before the explosion?" Korsak asked.

"I don't know," Jane replied. She rubbed her forehead, trying to will the ache away, both physical and emotional. It was hard to focus when a large part of her just wanted to go somewhere alone to mourn the death of her best friend. "Maura and I were going to go grab dinner, but Jenkins stopped me and said you wanted to see me, Lieutenant."

Cavanaugh looked confused and Jane sat up, more at attention.

"I didn't tell Jenkins that I wanted to see you," he responded. "Frankie, go find out who told Jenkins to stop her."

"You think it's important, Sean?" Korsak asked.

"Maybe," he replied. "If Jenkins hadn't stopped her, she'd be lying down in the morgue right now, too."

"You think our bomber didn't want to take anyone but Maura out in this," Jane said, catching on to what Cavanaugh was thinking.

Frankie stood and headed for the door to find Jenkins when he almost collided with Susie Chang. It was obvious she had been crying earlier, but the look on her face said she found something exciting, something that might turn the case around. She didn't even worry about apologizing for almost running Frankie over. She slipped past him and went directly to Jane.

"The woman who died in the car bomb is not Maura Isles," she said, unable to suppress a smile.

Jane stood and looked confused. "You looked at her right?"

The others looked uncomfortable and finally Korsak spoke up.

"The fire from the bomb was extremely hot, Jane," he said, a sympathetic look on his face. "She was burned beyond recognition."

"Still, I saw her getting in her car. How is that possible?"

"You said your back was turned," Frankie commented. Jane thought for a moment and nodded her head.

"Yeah, I turned away before she actually got in the car," she replied. "Susie, what do you have? Dental records or something?"

"No, we don't have dental records yet for Dr. Isles," Susie replied. She handed Jane a file folder. "I can only do so much until the substitute ME gets here, but I started preliminary tests including blood typing. The blood type of the victim from the car bomb is A negative. Dr. Isles' blood type is..."

"AB negative," Jane said. She didn't read it from the file and she explained how she knew that. "She mentioned it when she donated her kidney to Cailin. Apparently it's rare. So you're saying there is no way that the dead woman downstairs is Maura?"

"Exactly," Susie replied. "I typed the victim three times just to be sure. It is not Dr. Isles."

The others were shocked and confused. Jane leaned against her desk and scoffed. "So where the hell is Maura?"

* * *

><p>The smelling salts jolted Maura awake and the searing pain in her head nearly made her pass out again. She cringed and tried to open her eyes, but the light in the room was swimming and she felt nauseated. Yet she realized that she was being forced to breathe through her nose. Her mouth was covered with tape. If she threw up, she would suffocate on her own vomit. She kept her eyes clamped shut, hoping that the nausea would pass and she would soon be able to look at her surroundings. Until then she focused on sounds. She heard footsteps from soft-soled shoes on cement. She heard breathing, slightly heavier than normal. She wanted to focus on smells, but the smelling salts had burned her nose somewhat.<p>

"Hello, Dr. Isles," a man said. Thick Boston accent, low vocal register. She mentally filed that away in case she needed it later. She tried to open her eyes again, but still couldn't ward off the nausea. "Sorry about the headache. Had to get you out of there without you screaming to your friend, Rizzoli."

Maura was going to say something but remembered the tape. She grunted, hoping he would remove it. The nausea wasn't passing, and suffocating on vomit was far from her first choice of ways to die. She grunted again and forced her eyes open. Involuntary tears streamed down her cheeks. The pain and nausea was horrible. She couldn't go so far as lifting her head. She could see a pair of black New Balance tennis shoes. She also noticed the feet of a tripod, possibly for a camera.

"Okay, doc, I need you on board here," the man said. He crouched down in front of her, but she still didn't see his face. He was wearing a black ski mask. He had brown eyes. "You're going to help me take care of some business, and I need you to look at the camera. Think you can manage that?"

She grunted again, but it was pretty clear the tape wasn't coming off. He was waiting for her answer patiently. Cooperation; that was how she would get out of this alive. She nodded her head. He smiled and patted her knee with a gloved hand before he stood and moved toward the tripod.

"I knew I could count on you, Dr. Isles. You've got a reputation for reliability."

She looked up just as the red recording light on the camera came on. She didn't know what else to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Jane was sitting at her desk watching the surveillance footage over and over again. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but herself, but she was off her game. She wasn't picking up anything suspicious in the footage. She had probably watched it 50 times. There had to be something she was missing. She needed coffee. One little cup couldn't hurt. As if on cue, Angela Rizzoli walked into the room carrying four coffees.

"Ma, it's 2 a.m. What are you doing here?"

"The same thing you are," Angela responded as she set the coffees on Jane's desk. She handed one to Korsak and one to Frost. "Not sleeping and worrying about Maura."

Jane sighed. She couldn't blame her mother. She told the truth. Frankie walked in a moment later and took a coffee and a kiss on the cheek from their mother.

"Ma, a little late for you, huh," he commented. He looked at his watch. "Or early, depending on how you look at it."

"It was bad enough thinking Maura was dead and Jane could have gone with her if not for a little luck," Angela said, her voice filled with worry. "But now some other poor woman is dead and Maura's missing. It's horrible."

"We'll find her," Frost said. He had been watching the surveillance footage as well.

"I know you will," Angela said. "You're the best detectives I know." She turned to Jane. "You find her, Janie. She's family."

"I know, Ma," Jane said. She stood and gave her mother a hug. "Frost is right. We'll find her."

"I just don't know what to do with myself," Angela said as she and Jane separated. "I want to help Maura somehow. I don't know how to not worry."

"That's why we love you," Jane said with a smirk, half sarcastic. Jane grabbed her cup of coffee, but then she heard Maura's voice in her mind nagging her about caffeine. She set the cup back down. "I'd say clean Maura's house, but that would be redundant. Hey, you can clean my apartment!"

"Very funny, Jane," Angela said, rolling her eyes at her daughter. "I'm being serious here."

"So am I," Jane said, not losing her smirk. Korsak and Frost chuckled along with her. "You know, Maura's got that turtle, Bass. I have no clue how to take care of it or what it needs, but maybe you could find out."

"I could do that," Angela said. "I can use the Google to find out."

"_The_ Google?" Jane asked. Frost and Frankie snickered. Angela scowled.

"You ignore them, Angela," Korsak said with his own scowl. "Bass will be lucky to have you taking care of him."

"You tell me when you find Maura," Angela said as she turned to leave. "I don't want to have to use _the_ Google to find that out, too."

Jane watched her mother leave and chuckled, glad for a moment of levity. Then she sighed and sat back down.

"Why am I not seeing anything here?" she asked in frustration. "Someone took Maura immediately before the explosion. But nothing on the video gives us a clue how that happened."

"A van drives by less than a minute before the explosion," Frost said. Jane stood and walked around to look over his shoulder. He was clicking through the video frame by frame. The van completely blocked out the view of Maura's car.

"But it was going the speed limit and didn't slow down," Frankie commented. "How could they grab Maura without stopping?"

"And without her screaming," Jane said. "I didn't hear anything before the explosion."

"It would be tough, but it's possible," Korsak said. "One person driving, one person waiting to make the grab from the van's side door. Dr. Isles wouldn't be too hard to lift for someone who's strong enough."

"Frost, can you get the plate number off that van?" Jane asked.

"Not from this camera angle," he said. "None of the cameras on this building had the angle on it."

"What about across the street or traffic cameras up the block?" Frankie asked.

"We can try it," Frost said, getting ready to work on getting the traffic camera footage. Jane's desk phone rang and she moved around to answer it.

"Rizzoli," she answered. She listened, a confused scowl creasing her brow. "It's 2 in the morning. What courier service runs at 2 in the morning?" She listened more. "All right, all right. I'll be down in a minute."

"What's that about?" Korsak asked when she hung up.

"Front desk officer says a courier just delivered an envelope," she replied. She rolled her eyes. "This isn't suspicious at all."

"Should we call the bomb unit?" Frankie asked. "Evacuate?"

"Let's not jump the gun, Frankie," Jane said. "I'm going to go take a look at it. If I think it's suspicious I'll call it."

"I'm going with you," Frost said. "Frankie, keep trying to get the traffic cameras up."

"Don't do anything crazy, you two," Korsak said. He moved over to watch the traffic footage with Frankie at Frost's desk while the other two headed down to the lobby.

"Did Jenkins say who told him Lieutenant Cavanaugh wanted to see you?" Frost asked in the elevator.

"He said he was doing a wand sweep of a visitor, and when he turned around, there was a Post-It on one of the security monitors, supposedly signed by Cavanaugh," Jane said. "Because Post-It is the standard method of communication for all the lieutenants."

"Did he save the Post-It?"

"He trashed it," Jane said with a shake of her head. They exited the elevator into the lobby and approached the security desk. The desk officer had made the courier wait. A small brown envelope was sitting on top of the desk. Jane looked to the desk officer. "Did you touch it?"

"No, only the courier did," the female officer replied. Frost turned to the courier.

"Does your courier service usually run this late?"

"Not really," the young man said. He looked like he was barely out of high school. "Look, am I going to get in trouble for this? Please don't tell my boss."

"Who did you deliver this envelope for?" Jane asked. "Man, woman, young, old? A name would be nice."

"My name is Jeremy," the young man replied. He obviously was still nervous about trouble with the police.

"Not your name," Jane said, her frustration evident. "Do you know the name of the person who gave you this envelope?"

"No," the courier replied. He was getting more panicky by the minute. "Look, I was just delivering something at city hall, and this guy in a suit came up to me. He looked like a regular business guy. He said he would leave an envelope in our drop box and he paid me $800 to deliver it right at this exact time. That's what I make in a month. Is that good enough? Can I go?"

"No, you can't," Jane said. She pointed at a row of chairs nearby. "Sit there. We'll get back to you in a minute."

The two detectives stood opposite from the front desk officer and looked at the envelope. It was a business letter size envelope and had "Jane Rizzoli" written on it in block letters. There were no other distinguishing features. Frost pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. He looked to Jane before touching the envelope.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Well, I don't see any white powder. So I guess Anthrax is out," she commented with her typical sarcastic tone.

She took the handkerchief from Frost, pinched a corner of the envelope, and turned it over to reveal the flap. Instead of being sealed, it was tucked into the inside of the envelope. She also noted that the envelope was slightly heavier than standard paper. That's when she noticed a small bulge that slid to the opposite end of the envelope when she lifted it. She set it back down and Frost took the handkerchief from her. He used it to lightly trace the outline of the bulge.

"If I had to guess, I would say it's a flash drive."

"Or a tiny bomb from the person who has already killed one woman _with a bomb_," Jane said.

"He went to the trouble of making sure you weren't killed by the car bomb," Frost said. "Why would he send you a bomb by courier 6 hours later?"

"Dramatic effect?" Jane asked rhetorically.

"I'm opening it."

"Frost..." Jane protested, but he ignored her. He held one end of the envelope down with a pen while he pulled open the flap with his handkerchief. Then he dumped the contents onto the desk. He was right. It was an 8 GB flash drive.

"There you go," he said. "Let's see what's on it."

Jane looked to the desk officer. "Kaplan, could you get that kid's statement for us?"

"Sure, detective."

When they arrived upstairs, Jane immediately asked Frankie for an evidence bag for the envelope, which she was carrying by the corner, pinched in her sleeve. Frost plugged the flash drive into his computer. He opened the only file on it, a video file. They were all immediately riveted when they saw the frozen first frame of the video.

Maura was tied to a chair, rope securing her torso to the back of the chair, her ankles to the legs, and her hands behind her back. There was dried blood covering a large portion of the right side of her face. Some of her hair was also matted with blood. Her right eye was bruised. Her mouth was covered with duct tape. She looked terrified. Frost hit play.

"Hello, Detective Rizzoli," an electronically altered male voice said from off-screen. "Knowing your reputation and the reputation of your department, you already know that Dr. Maura Isles was not the woman killed in today's car bombing. I needed a distraction, you see. Most importantly, I needed her because I'm proposing a trade. It's simple. You get Dr. Isles. I get Paddy Doyle."

Jane looked to Korsak in shock. Patrick "Paddy" Doyle was someone she was really tired of having come up in their work. Maura's biological father had caused enough trouble in all their lives. Yet here he came again, by way of Maura's abductor.

"In 12 hours, 2 p.m., you will deliver Doyle to the abandoned shoe warehouse on Pier 21," the voice continued. "An hour later, I will deliver Dr. Isles to the construction site across from Fenway Park. I don't want to cause any permanent harm to Dr. Isles, but if you don't deliver Doyle, I'll be forced to be more persuasive."

The video continued with the most agonizing 15 seconds of silence Jane had ever experienced with the camera focused on a close-up of Maura's face. Jane could see she was obviously trying very hard to be brave and to not cry. Then the video ended.

"Paddy Doyle," Korsak said. "Sonofabitch is in prison and he's still a thorn in our side."

"Do we think this is some escape plan?" Frost asked. "One of Doyle's men on the outside pulling the strings?"

"I don't know," Jane replied. "It doesn't seem like his style. And if Paddy knew his guys hurt Maura, he'd add another murder charge to his sheet as soon as he got out. The guy may be evil, but caring about Maura is his Achilles' heel."

"Who else would want Doyle out of prison but his own guys?" Frankie asked. "This doesn't make sense."

"You're right about that," Frost commented. He looked to Jane with concern. "You know there's no way we're going to get Doyle out of prison."

"Maura wouldn't want that even if we could," Jane said. "We need to figure out how to find her without royally pissing off the people who took her. And we've got a 12-hour deadline. I, for one, don't want to find out how persuasive they can get."

She went to her desk, picked up the phone, and dialed some numbers.

"Who are you calling?" Korsak asked.

"The prison," she said. "We need to see Paddy Doyle and we can't wait for visiting hours."

* * *

><p>Maura jolted awake again when she felt someone touching her face. She saw a woman kneeling next to her. The woman was wearing a ski cap and a surgical mask. In her gloved hands she held bloody gauze.<p>

"I'm just cleaning your head wound," the woman said.

Maura grunted, hoping maybe she could somehow convince the woman to remove the tape from her mouth. She resumed cleaning the blood off Maura's face and shook her head.

"I can't risk you screaming."

Maura shook her head. She attempted to say "please" and pleaded with the woman using her eyes. The woman looked her in the eyes for a long moment. Maura could see compassion there. Then she sighed and pulled at the corner of the tape. Before she pulled it completely off, she paused.

"If you scream, it goes back on."

Maura nodded her head and then the woman pulled the tape off completely.

"Ow," Maura said. She was glad to have the tape off. The fear of suffocation was gone, at least for a little while. "May I please have some water?"

The young woman contemplated it and then grabbed the 1 liter bottle of water she had brought down to clean Maura's face. She helped Maura drink some and then took it back.

"If my brother knew I was down here, he would be pissed," the girl said with a nervous chuckle. "I need to get you cleaned up and the tape back on."

"What do you want with Paddy Doyle?" Maura asked. "Do you work for him? Is this some kind of escape ploy?"

The woman laughed. "Hardly. This is payback. Paddy Doyle is the reason my brother and I became orphans 33 years ago."

"Revenge," Maura said with a sigh. "I have zero love for Paddy Doyle. I didn't even know he was my biological father until a couple years ago."

"But he has love for you," she said. She put some rubbing alcohol on some gauze and dabbed at Maura's head wound, causing her to wince. "He came back to Boston to protect you. That's what got him shot and arrested. He made himself vulnerable for you."

"Jane is not going to be able to get him out of prison," Maura said. "Especially not in 12 hours or however much time she has left."

"Can you imagine two 6-year-old kids losing their dad to murder and then finding mom overdosed in the bathtub 7 months later?" the woman said, ignoring what Maura had said. "That's what Paddy Doyle did to us, and we are going to get payback for that."

"Two 6-year-olds?" Maura asked. "You're twins?"

The door to the basement slammed open and the male kidnapper rushed down the stairs. He was pissed, just like his sister had said he would be. He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up into a standing position.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he asked.

"I was just cleaning her head wound so it doesn't get infected," she replied.

"And you took the tape off so you could have a little chat over coffee or something?"

"She needed water," the woman said.

"Put the tape back on, finish what you're doing, and don't talk to her!" he yelled.

"Please, listen to me," Maura spoke up. "This isn't going to work. You won't get your revenge on Paddy Doyle like this."

He thrust his hand out suddenly and grabbed Maura by the throat. Her cry of surprise was quickly stopped when he squeezed, just tight enough to make it difficult to breathe.

"No!" the woman yelled, grabbing his wrist. "You promised you wouldn't hurt her anymore. You promised that Paddy was the only person you would hurt."

The man glared at his sister for nearly a minute. Maura concentrated on breathing. Finally he released her throat. He picked up a roll of duct tape, cut a new piece, and roughly covered Maura's mouth with it.

"The tape stays on!" he yelled. Then he turned on his heel, stomped up the basement stairs, and slammed the door behind him.

The young woman was clearly flustered as she quickly knelt down again to continue cleaning Maura's wound in silence. Maura didn't try to talk again.


	3. Chapter 3

While Korsak and Jane went to the prison, Frost and Frankie stayed behind to review surveillance and traffic footage of the area surrounding the site of the explosion. Jane hoped by the time she returned they would have a name to investigate.

They walked into the windowless room where Paddy Doyle was already seated, handcuffed to the table, which was bolted to the floor. He made eye contact with Jane and didn't back down. He wanted to intimidate her. She was too angry to even notice.

"Maura's been kidnapped, Paddy," Jane said. She had had Frost print a screenshot of the video of Maura tied to the chair. She slid it across the table in front of Paddy. He looked at it and his expression darkened. "What do you know about it?"

Paddy stared at the picture for a moment. Jane had a feeling he was wondering how he could take out the kidnappers using his methods, not the police.

"I don't know anything, detective," he finally replied. "Why should I?"

"Because the kidnappers want us to trade you for her," Korsak said. "Not a bad escape plan."

Paddy looked at both the detectives' faces, and he knew they didn't really believe he had orchestrated this to escape.

"I'm afraid I'm as clueless as you are," Paddy responded, a note of condescension in his voice. "Which is very unfortunate for Maura."

"Look, I know how news travels in your circles," Jane said. She took the picture of Maura back and put it away. "You have to know something."

Paddy was tight-lipped. Jane was beyond frustrated.

"Do you want her dead?" Jane yelled as she stood. "You don't seem too worried about that."

"I'm afraid I have to leave it in your hands, Detective Rizzoli," he said. He held out his handcuffed hands as high from the table top as he could. "There's nothing I can do from here."

"From here?" Jane asked. He simply stared back at her and she laughed in disbelief. "If you think we're actually going to bend to the kidnappers' terms, you're crazy. Come on, Korsak. This was a waste of time."

The two of them left the prison, hoping that Frost and Frankie had been more successful in their work.

* * *

><p>When they returned to headquarters, they found Frost and Frankie waiting in the computer lab. On the big screen were three video windows with footage ready to play.<p>

"What have you got?" Jane asked as she slipped off her blazer and threw it on a chair. The other two could tell things at the prison hadn't gone well. Frost started the video in the left window.

"This is surveillance video from one of the cameras on this building at 11 a.m. yesterday," he explained.

They all watched as a van with a logo for Florentine's Flowers pulled up next to Maura's car and double-parked on the street. After a few moments the female driver exited the vehicle with a vase of flowers that Jane recognized.

"Yeah, those are the flowers that Maura received from Constance yesterday, for her birthday," she said. "So?"

"So watch the second video," Frankie said. Frost played the video in the center window. "This is from a security camera on a building across the street."

The video showed the same van pull up. It had the same logo on the other side. Once it parked, the side door opened, and a man in a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses exited. Most of his body was blocked by Maura's car, and they watched as he crouched down between the van and her car. Frost hit play on the third video, and they could see that it was a traffic camera at the intersection at the end of the block. They could see the back of the van and more of the man who exited the van. He was holding something in his hands that they couldn't really identify. The distance was too far. He appeared to attach the object to the bottom of Maura's car. After a couple minutes, he stood back up and got back in the van.

"So the flowers weren't really from Constance," Jane commented. She looked at Frost. "I've never heard of Florentine's Flowers."

"That's because they don't exist. It's fake," Frost replied. He gestured to the left video window. "There's the woman getting back in the van. The whole thing took less than 10 minutes."

"The flowers were still in Maura's office," Frankie said. "But the vase was clean. Only Maura's prints."

"The van looks like the same make and model of the one that drove by before the explosion," Korsak said. He pointed to the traffic camera video. "Can you get the plates?"

"They were reported stolen. Registerd to a William Baker for a 2010 Chevy Impala," Frost explained. "We're thinking the fake company logos are magnetic."

"I don't get it," Jane said. "They clearly knew where the cameras are on this building. Yet they were careless enough to let the other cameras catch them. They're not that stupid."

"We have a theory on that," Frankie said. Jane and Korsak waited for him to explain. "The cameras on this building are the only ones monitored constantly. The other ones are usually only checked if something happens. Look at our cameras, you see a woman delivering flowers. Look at the others and you see a guy planting a bomb. But there's nothing there to identify them."

"That's cocky," Korsak said. "They knew they could get away with this."

"But what about our Jane Doe?" Jane asked. "How'd she get in the car?"

Frost answered by pulling up three more video windows. Again the Boston PD camera was on the left, the camera from across the street was in the center, and the traffic camera was on the right. This time he played them all at the same time. The time stamps read just after 3 p.m. They watched as the van pulled up next to Maura's car again. This time the logos on the sides of the van read Miller & Sons, Electricians.

"Let me guess. Miller & Sons is another fake company," Jane commented. Frankie nodded his head.

As the videos continued, they saw that the driver didn't exit the van. On the camera across the street and the traffic camera, they saw what appeared to be the same man in the hooded sweatshirt picking the lock on Maura's car and dragging a limp body into the driver's seat. He was clearly watching to make sure bystanders didn't notice him. The process was done in a couple minutes.

"Can we get a better look at Jane Doe?" Korsak asked. "Maybe we can at least identify her."

"The video quality is too poor and the angle is off," Frost said. "I tried enhancing it, but I got nothing."

Finally the man got back in the van and moments later drove off. Frost stopped all the videos. He turned to Jane and Korsak.

"The next videos are when he snatches Maura," Frost said. He looked to Jane sympathetically, knowing she felt guilty for being right there and not being able to stop any of it. "It's pretty much how Korsak figured it went down. We think the woman was driving and the guy grabbed Maura from the side door."

"Bomb techs said the bomb was on a remote trigger, which is why the guy was able to plant it so quickly," Frankie continued the explanation.

"Let's see it," Jane said. Frost was reluctant but he pulled up the next three videos, time stamped just after 8 p.m. Jane focused on the traffic camera because it offered the clearest view of Maura.

She watched herself and Maura start to head to Maura's car. She replayed everything they said in her mind as she saw herself turn back in response to Jenkins.

"_I can wait."_

Would this have been prevented if Jane had told her to wait? Or would it have just delayed the inevitable? She watched as she turned back toward headquarters and Maura approached her car. When she was standing right next to it, Maura hesitated. She was looking in the driver's side window.

"She saw Jane Doe," Korsak said in realization.

She had even started to turn back when seconds later, the van drove up and the man grabbed her. She tried to struggle, but he was clearly very strong. He lifted her into the van like she was weightless. When the van was about three car lengths away, the bomb went off. They watched as Jane headed into the street and then the second explosion threw her off her feet. Then Frost stopped the video.

"That's it," he said. "That's all we've got. We tried facial recognition on the woman, but nothing came up. She doesn't have a criminal record. The man's face wasn't clear enough to identify."

"Too bad we can't talk to Maura," Korsak said. "She clearly saw the woman in her car. She knows who we have down in the morgue."

Jane sat down and leaned forward on her elbows. She wasn't sure where to go next. She looked at her watch.

"We have six hours. Anybody have any ideas?" she asked. The guys didn't say anything for a moment.

"I'm gonna talk to Cavanaugh, see if he can talk to the governor," Korsak said finally. The others looked to him in confusion. "Maybe we need to admit that trading Paddy Doyle is the only way we're going to get Maura back."

"And let a murderer back on the streets?" Frankie asked, shocked the Korsak would suggest it.

"If we put a tracker on him, stake out the drop sites, we might be able to catch our perp," Korsak said.

"That's a big risk, Korsak," Jane said, but she was feeling inclined to agree with him. She felt like they had hit a dead end.

"What choice do we have?" Korsak replied. "We have no idea what they're going to do to Maura if we don't deliver. It's either her or Doyle."

"I choose Maura," Jane said, agreeing with Korsak's suggestion. "Talk to Cavanaugh. We're running out of time."

Korsak nodded his head and left the room. Jane hoped Cavanaugh could convince the governor. Maura's life could depend on it.

* * *

><p>After 2 hours of playing the waiting game while Cavanaugh made phone calls, the team was getting frustrated. Jane and Frost rewatched all the surveillance video while Frost tried all the enhancements he could think of to get some clue as to the identity of their perps. Frankie and Korsak reviewed the CSRU reports. Frost and Jane looked up when they noticed someone walking toward Cavanaugh's office.<p>

"Is that...?" Frost asked. Frankie and Korsak looked up, too.

"Agent Dean," Jane said in surprise. "What the hell?"

"Rizzoli," Cavanaugh called from his office door. He gestured for Jane to join him in his office. She stepped in and Dean turned to face her. Cavanaugh moved behind his desk but didn't sit down. "Agent Dean is here to speak on behalf of the Department of Justice."

"Well, that sounds ominous," Jane said. "DOJ sent someone I know to break the news that they're not going to help me save the life of my friend, aka the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

"I talked to the governor, but it's out of his hands," Cavanaugh said. He saw Jane was about to protest and he raised his hand to silence her. "Paddy Doyle is a _federal_ prisoner."

"The Department of Justice doesn't feel we can risk allowing Patrick Doyle out of federal custody," Agent Dean said.

"What risk?" Jane asked. "Put a fancy federal government tracker on him, watch him like a hawk, save Maura's life. It's the least you can do considering she helped put Doyle in prison."

"He murdered 15 people and is the head of the Irish mob," Dean said. "My superiors feel if we lose him now, he'll commit more crimes, hurt more people."

"So these hypothetical people are more important than the actual, not hypothetical danger that Maura's in?" Jane asked. Dean shifted uncomfortably. "What the hell, Dean?"

"If it was up to me, I would deliver Doyle myself," he responded. "My hands are tied."

"Oh, kind of like Maura's. Behind her back in a dank basement somewhere," Jane said. She looked at her watch. "And in 4 hours her kidnappers are going to do god knows what to her if we don't deliver Paddy Doyle."

"I'm sorry. I'm in Boston for 24 hours," Dean said. "I'll help as much as I can."

"Great. Thanks," she said, her sincerity lacking. Then she turned to Cavanaugh. "So what the hell are we supposed to do, sir? Maura's running out of time and all we can do is sit on our hands and wait for the kidnappers to hurt her some more."

"You're telling me you have nothing, Rizzoli?" Cavanaugh asked.

"Nothing that's going to lead us to Maura," she said. "We've hit a dead end."

"Then you're just going to have to stake out the drop sites without Doyle and hope the perps show up to try to collect their prize," Cavanaugh said. "You might get lucky."

"Luck? That's all we're going on?" Jane asked.

"It's all we've got," Cavanaugh replied.

Jane scoffed, feeling defeated. "Maura doesn't really believe in luck. She'd be really disappointed in this conversation."

"Well, you can tell her all about it when you find her," Cavanaugh said. "I know you Rizzoli. You'll find her."

"I hope you're right, lieutenant," she said, not feeling very confident at the moment. "Frost and I will take the warehouse. Korsak and Frankie will take the construction site. Agent Dean, please give your colleagues in D.C. my regards."

Jane hurried out of Cavanaugh's office hoping that little bit of luck Cavanaugh was relying on would be on their side.

* * *

><p>Jane and Frost had been sitting in their car for several hours. They knew they were early, but they didn't know what else to do. Most of the time was spent in silence. Jane even let Frost nap for an hour, considering all of them had been up all night. She looked at her watch and saw they were approaching the deadline—45 minutes until they were supposed to deliver Paddy Doyle. She grabbed her binoculars and focused on the warehouse. It was in pretty sorry shape, having not been used for several decades. She wondered if it was even safe to go in there. There were holes in the roof, holes in the wall. Some of them were haphazardly patched with plywood. Most were left gaping. She scanned the outside of the building when she noticed something they hadn't noticed before. She stared at it for several moments before she was sure of what she saw. She nudged Frost out of his nap and held out the binoculars.<p>

"Frost, look at the northwest corner of the warehouse, right at the roof line," she said. Frost wiped at his tired eyes and sat more upright. He finally took the binoculars and looked where Jane had said.

On the corner of the building, right below the roof overhang, was a security camera. It looked brand new. Frost lowered the binoculars and looked to Jane, sharing her surprise.

"What's a brand new security camera doing on a dilapidated old warehouse?" he asked, having an idea to the answer already.

"Our kidnappers are watching," Jane said. "That's why they had the hour delay between when we were supposed to drop off Paddy and when they would release Maura. They had to see us drop off Paddy and leave. Then they would collect their prize unseen and drop Maura off across from Fenway."

"If they're watching from somewhere else, we might be able to splice into that camera signal and get a location," Frost said. This was the best lead they had all day. Frost pulled out his cell phone. "I'll call in some techs to make sure there aren't any other cameras and then they can hook us up."

Thirty minutes later, they had checked the entire building. They found two other cameras, but they all had blind spots. The technicians were able to splice into all three. Frost was receiving a signal at his laptop. He could see all three camera angles. As he worked, Jane watched impatiently as the seconds ticked away. This was taking more time than they had. She looked to Frost when they had 10 minutes left. He shook his head.

"The signal's bouncing all over the place," he said. "I've followed it as far as I can. I've hit encryption and I can't decrypt it on my laptop. I have to go back to HQ."

"We've got 10 minutes, Frost," Jane said, disappointed that they had hit another wall.

"I'm sorry, Jane," he said. "I can't do it from here."

Jane's heart sank. They weren't going to catch these suspects by the deadline, and she dreaded what they would do to Maura next.

* * *

><p>"Dammit, we are 2 hours past the deadline," Jane said, running her hand through her hair as she paced behind Frost, who was at the computer. "We haven't heard anything. Why haven't we heard anything?"<p>

"I suppose it's wishful thinking to hope they're giving us more time," Frost commented. He had worked on decrypting the camera signals to find a location with no success.

Frankie rushed in and handed a large brown envelope to Jane. "Courier just dropped this off downstairs. It was the same kid from before. He said they found it in the drop box with another envelope full of cash. I gave the envelope of cash to the crime lab."

Jane dumped the contents of the brown envelope onto the desk to find a small box and another flash drive. Frost immediately started the video on the drive. Jane was about to open the box when the image of Maura tied to the chair popped up on the screen. The kidnapper had apparently summoned up the courtesy to clean the blood from Maura's face. She looked exhausted but still scared. The electronically altered voice began. Even with the electronic alterations, Jane could hear the annoyance in the voice.

"Obviously, you didn't take me seriously, Detective Rizzoli," he said.

"Oh believe me, I did," Jane muttered in frustration.

"Apparently, the dead woman in Dr. Isles' car wasn't enough for you. So I hope you appreciate this token of my commitment."

The detectives got to see their suspect, albeit wearing all black, including the ski mask and gloves. At first Jane couldn't see what he was holding, but when he stepped behind Maura, he held the tin snips up for a clear shot. Maura tried to look over her shoulder at him as he reached down behind her. She was shaking her head and trying to talk behind the tape covering her mouth. Jane could see the panic in Maura's eyes. She felt it herself when she realized what the kidnapper was doing.

"No, no, no," Jane said as she instinctively stepped toward the screen.

"Oh god," Korsak commented, catching on as well. Frost stood suddenly, as if he could jump through the screen and stop what was about to happen. Jane turned to her brother and handed him the box without opening it.

"Frankie, take this down to Susie and tell her to put it on ice immediately."

"Why? What is it?" Frankie asked, not understanding.

Maura's muffled scream provided a response. Jane looked back to the screen, distraught for her friend who was sobbing uncontrollably from the pain. Jane answered Frankie, trying to keep the bile from rising in her throat.

"It's Maura's finger."


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: If you happened to catch a version of Chapter 3 that was posted for about 30 minutes until I decided to remove and revise it, you might want to go back and reread part of Chapter 3. The only part that changed was the scene in Cavanaugh's office._

* * *

><p>When the young woman entered the basement again, it was shortly after her brother had cut off Maura's left thumb. She saw him putting the small box and flash drive in the envelope. Then she saw the blood on the floor behind Maura, who had passed out. She immediately rushed past him.<p>

"What did you do?" she asked angrily. She knelt down behind Maura to do what she could to help her. "You promised you wouldn't hurt her."

"The police missed the deadline and needed some persuasion," he said. His voice was disturbingly calm considering he had just cut off a woman's thumb. He sealed the envelope and headed for the stairs. "Take care of her."

She watched him leave, completely in shock over his behavior. Then she ran up the stairs to retrieve supplies to treat Maura's wound. She hurried back down and began wrapping Maura's hand in gauze in an attempt to slow the bleeding. She knew she wouldn't bleed out from this wound, but the blood loss would still be significant. When she had her hand thoroughly wrapped, she removed the duct tape from Maura's mouth. She went back upstairs and came back down with a glass of orange juice.

"Dr. Isles," she said as she tried to rouse Maura. She was feeling a level of panic. "Oh please, wake up."

After several agonizing moments, Maura began to stir. She groaned and slowly lifted her head. The young woman breathed a sigh of relief and held the glass of orange juice up.

"Dr. Isles, you should drink this," she said, moving the glass closer. It was an inch away from her face when Maura finally realized the tape was gone. She obliged the young woman and drank some of the orange juice, but she didn't get very far. She cringed as she felt a wave of nausea coming on. She pulled back and whimpered slightly. It was clear she was in a lot of pain.

"Please, let me go," she pleaded in a weak voice that was shaking from the pain. She spoke slowly and deliberately. "There's a limited amount of time to reattach my thumb."

"You need to drink more juice," the young woman said. Maura pulled back, refusing to drink. "It'll help keep you hydrated and help with your blood sugar."

Maura looked at the woman for a moment, not believing that a woman displaying this kind of compassion could continue to let her brother cause her harm. Yet she was.

"You have a medical background," Maura deduced thinking about how the young woman knew to give her orange juice after the blood loss. "You're a med student or a nurse. Your vocation is to heal, not harm. How can you continue letting him do this to me?"

"I-I can't let you go," the woman said nervously. She set the glass of juice down on the nearby table. "He's my brother."

"Your brother is displaying psychopathic behaviors," Maura said, still hoping to convince the woman to release her. "Do you really think he's going to let me live?"

The woman paced and fidgeted with her hands. She looked at Maura, anxiety obvious on her face.

"He promised me," she said. "He promised. Only Paddy Doyle."

"He broke that promise before he made it," Maura said angrily. She was disappointed that she couldn't get through to this woman. She was her best shot of escape at the moment. "Please."

The woman shook her head and grabbed the roll of duct tape. As she cut off a piece, Maura closed her eyes in defeat. Then the tape was back on and the woman turned toward the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, she looked back to Maura, as if contemplating a change of heart, but then she ascended the stairs. When the basement door closed, Maura was overcome by the stress, pain, and fear. She began to sob as she realized that if Jane and the others didn't find her soon, she was going to die in that basement.

* * *

><p>For the next visit to the prison, Jane and Frost brought a laptop with them. Frost plugged the second flash drive into the computer, hit play, and then spun the laptop around on the table so Doyle could see it. Jane watched him glare at the screen. She remained on the opposite side of the table. She didn't need to watch that video again. When Maura screamed, Doyle actually flinched. Jane was surprised.<p>

"That's on you, Paddy," she said angrily as Frost closed the laptop and took it away. Jane blamed herself more than Paddy, but she knew an easy target when she saw one. She needed someone to direct her anger at. "I know you care about Maura. So why don't you cut the bullshit and help us?"

He was silent for a moment, still looking at the place where the laptop had been sitting. Jane could tell he was furious.

"I don't think I'll be much help to you," he replied finally.

"If this isn't one of your guys trying to get you out, then it must be one of your enemies," Frost said.

"Everybody in Boston knows that Maura is your daughter, a weakness to exploit," Jane continued. "Which of your enemies would do this to get to you?"

"None of them," he replied. "None of them would need to do this. They all have people in here. All it takes is one little message and a shank, and they've got me. They don't need to torture Maura to get to me."

"Who else would do this?" Jane asked. "You have to have some idea."

"I have one," he thought. "It's not going to be much help."

"What?" Frost asked. "We'll be the judges of what's helpful."

"This is a revenge thing," he said. "It's pretty obvious. This guy can't get to me in prison or else he wouldn't need you to get me out. And if you can't get me out, he knows he can hurt me by hurting Maura."

Jane nodded her head. It made sense. Outside of mob enemies, the only people who would want revenge against Paddy Doyle would be his victims.

"So we need to know who you hurt who wants to hurt you back," she said. She stood, knowing they would have a long list to compile and research.

"Detective," Paddy said when she reached the door. She turned back. "When you find this guy, you let me know his name."

"Fat chance," she replied. "We don't deal in mob justice."

The prison guard opened the door, and Jane and Frost left Doyle to fume over the situation.

* * *

><p>While Frost and Frankie worked on a list of possible suspects, Jane and Korsak headed down to the morgue to talk to Susie and the substitute medical examiner, who had finally arrived. They ran into Susie first.<p>

"I put Dr. Isles' thumb in cold storage, but you don't have a lot of time," Susie explained. "It needs to be re-attached within 6 to 12 hours, max."

"Great. I _love_ deadlines," Jane said. "Has the ME started the autopsy on our Jane Doe?"

"She was just about to," Susie replied.

"She? I didn't think we had any other female MEs," Korsak commented as they headed into the autopsy room.

They approached the autopsy table where a woman in her early to mid 40s stood with a clipboard. She was about Jane's height with long brown hair tied back into a pony tail. She was dressed in scrubs and just about to begin the autopsy on Jane Doe. She looked up when she noticed Jane and Korsak.

"You must be Detective Rizzoli and Sergeant Korsak," she said. Jane nodded her head. "I'm Dr. Snyder. Dr. Isles told me a lot about you both."

Jane exchanged a look with Korsak. "Funny, she hasn't mentioned you at all," she said.

"Oh, we worked together in Doctors Without Borders," Snyder replied. "I just accepted a position at Boston General and signed on as a back-up for the medical examiner's office."

"Nice to meet you," Korsak said. "Our usual back-ups are barely worth the time of day around here."

"So I've heard," Snyder replied. Then she turned to the situation at hand. "I'm assuming Susie told you about Maura's thumb?"

"6 to 12 hours to find her," Jane said, her tone grave. "Yeah, we know the clock's ticking. Knowing something about Jane Doe would go a long way toward speeding up our investigation."

"Preliminary examination reveals a female. Between 5 feet 5 and 5 feet 7 inches tall. One hundred and fifteen to one hundred and twenty pounds. Caucasian."

"So...probably half the women in Boston," Korsak said. "Anything to narrow it down, doc?"

"I don't believe she was dead before she was placed in the car," Snyder said. She pointed to the right wrist. "There's evidence of her being restrained. The tox screen also revealed she had been given a sedative. Enough to knock her out but not to kill her."

"There was nothing on her body to reveal her identity. Blood type is A negative," Jane said, mostly thinking out loud. "What about DNA?"

"We're still waiting on those results," Dr. Snyder replied.

"No, we're not," Susie said as she entered the room. Her expression was very grave. "We got a hit quickly because Jane Doe is related to Dr. Isles. I sent a second sample. The result was the same."

They all looked to the body in shock, and Jane's heart sank.

"That means there are only two women that this could be," Jane said. "Dr. Snyder, if you had to guess, how old would you say this woman was?"

"Susie, could you set up the pelvic x-rays?"

Jane and Korsak followed Susie and Dr. Snyder to the light board. Dr. Snyder examined the x-rays intently before speaking.

"It's difficult to tell age from these x-rays, but I can tell you that this woman has had at least one child."

Jane swore under her breath and turned her back on the light board to look at the body on the table. "Our bomb victim is Hope Martin."


	5. Chapter 5

Jane entered the conference room and handed a cup of coffee to Cailin, who was sitting at the table with a tissue in hand, sniffing back tears. They had just broken the news about her mother.

"I'm so sorry, Cailin," she said. She hesitated and then began the line of questioning she needed to go through to figure out if Cailin might know something that would reveal Hope's killer and Maura's kidnapper. "I hate to have to do this, but we're on a clock. Maura is missing, and the people who killed your mother are the same people who took Maura."

"I understand," Cailin said. She sniffed and tried to compose herself. "I want to help you catch them."

"Okay. So when was the last time you saw your mother?'

"Yesterday at about one o'clock," she replied. "We had lunch together at Franklin Cafe."

"Do you know where she went after that?"

"She would have gone back to the MEND clinic."

"Did she drive herself?"

"No, she took a cab," Cailin replied. "Her car's in the shop."

"What cab company?"

"Um, Metro Cab."

Jane made a note to call the cab company and also to call the clinic to find out if Hope ever made it back there. Cailin guessed what her notes might say.

"Do you think the cab driver...maybe...?" Cailin asked her open-ended question. "I offered to drive her. Would she still be alive if I had?"

"I can't really say until I talk to the cab company," Jane said, trying to keep her sympathetic tone. "Either way, you can't blame yourself. Executing a plan like this often relies on opportunity. They would have found a way to get to her."

There was a knock at the door and then Frost poked his head in. He looked rushed.

"Jane, we've got another flash drive," he said.

"Already? It's only been a couple of hours." Frost didn't respond because he didn't have an explanation. Jane stood and looked to Cailin. "I'll be right back. Try to remember anything you can about that lunch with your mother. Maybe there was something suspicious you didn't notice yesterday."

Jane followed Frost to watch the video, which was already loaded and ready to play. The camera again was focused on Maura, tied to the same chair. She looked pale. Jane worried about blood loss and whether they would find her in time to re-attach her thumb.

"Detective Rizzoli, I hope my last message has had some time to sink in," the voice on the video said. He was off-screen again. "In my anger, I didn't give you the new terms of this arrangement. You have until midnight to deliver Paddy Doyle. Otherwise, the next package you receive will be Dr. Isles in a pine box. Don't doubt my convictions, Rizzoli. You know I'll follow through."

He stepped into the frame and held the object in his right hand out in clear view. It was a stun gun. He wasted no time sticking it up to Maura's neck and shocking her.

"Sonofabitch," Jane said angrily. After the man had used the stun gun on Maura, he stepped out of frame. The video ended, frozen on Maura, who was slumped over in her chair. Jane dropped down in her own chair. "This is impossible."

"Did you notice something weird about Maura in that video?" Frankie asked. Jane waited for him to elaborate. "She was blinking funny."

"Blinking funny how?" Jane asked, not quite sure how this was significant. She sat up as Frost started the video over.

"See that," Frankie said, pointing at the screen. "That's not normal blinking. It's sometimes fast, sometimes slow."

"Maybe they did something to her eyes, as torture," Frost suggested. "Pepper spray."

"No, there's a pattern to it," Jane said, finally seeing what Frankie was seeing.

"Hell, it's Morse code," Korsak said as he pulled out a notepad and a pencil. "Frost start the video over."

"God bless you and that brain of yours, Maura," Jane said as Korsak took notes. They all waited for him to reveal the message once the video was over.

"1981, twins, orphans, OD."

"What does that mean?" Frankie asked.

"It's not really anything related to a location," Korsak said. "So maybe it's clues about her kidnappers. Maybe she's learned something about who they are."

Jane stood and paced as she mulled over the clues.

"Orphans...so maybe Paddy killed their parents or one of their parents," Jane said. "And we know he played Cavanaugh as his C.I. to get cheaper drugs. OD has to mean overdose."

"I'll cross-reference that with anybody Paddy allegedly killed in 1981," Frost said as he did a search. He brought up a mugshot and criminal record. "Here's one. Bobby Walker was a low level dealer killed in March of 1981, allegedly by Paddy Doyle but no evidence to prove it."

"Did he have kids?" Frankie asked.

"Fraternal twins, a girl and a boy," Frost read. "Rachel and Richard."

"What about OD? Who overdosed?" Jane asked.

"His wife," Korsak read from the screen as Frost pulled up the file. "Cocaine overdose, October of 1981."

"So this has to be what Maura was trying to tell us," Frankie said. "It all fits. What happened to the twins?"

"They went into the foster system," Frost said. "They were 6 years old."

"Were they adopted?" Jane asked.

"I don't have access to that information here," Frost said. "That's going to take some extra time."

"Of which we don't have," Jane said. "Get on it, Frost. My gut tells me that we'll find Maura when we find those twins."

"Oh my god."

Jane spun around to find Cailin in the doorway behind her. She was staring at the frozen video of Maura that was still up on the screen. Jane approached her and managed to draw Cailin's focus away from the screen.

"Cailin, did you think of something?" she asked.

"Uh, maybe, I think..." she hesitated. She glanced at the screen one more time before attempting to compose herself. "My mom's car is only, like, 2 months old. She just bought it. But she was late to lunch because she had to have it towed to the shop. They said her alternator was missing."

"Somebody stole her alternator?" Jane asked, trying to fit that clue in with all the others she had. Cailin nodded her head. Jane looked to the others. "So maybe our perp stole the alternator to make sure Hope had to take a cab." She turned back to Cailin. "How did she get to lunch?"

"Someone at the clinic dropped her off."

"All right, Cailin, that's very helpful," Jane said. "I'm going to have an officer take you home. If you think of anything else, you know how to reach me."

Jane led Cailin out of the room and looked to Korsak. "Let's go talk to that cab company. I think I know how Hope ended up in Maura's car."

* * *

><p>They had managed to get the traffic camera footage of the cab that picked Hope up after lunch. That helped them identify the driver of that particular cab. When Korsak and Jane arrived at Metro Cab, the manager on duty led them to the driver they were looking for.<p>

"Deshawn Miller," Korsak said as they approached the driver. He simply nodded his head as Korsak and Jane showed their badges. "Boston homicide. We need to ask you some questions about a woman you picked up yesterday afternoon."

"What time?" he asked.

"About one o'clock," Korsak replied.

"Deshawn didn't have any runs until about 3 p.m.," the manager said. "Are you sure he's the one you're looking for?"

"We have video of Deshawn's cab picking up our murder victim outside the Franklin Cafe yesterday at 1:10 p.m.," Jane explained. She looked to Deshawn, whose eyes went wide at the word murder. "Making a little off hours cash, Deshawn?"

Deshawn was immediately nervous. He looked to his manager, who was just as curious about his answer as the detectives were. But he couldn't lie.

"This guy paid me $5000 to borrow the cab for a couple hours," he replied.

"What the hell, man?!" his manager yelled. Jane raised her hand to indicate she didn't want him to interrupt again. Korsak held up his tablet displaying Richard Walker's drivers license photo.

"This guy?" he asked. Deshawn nodded his head. Korsak lowered his tablet and tried to control his anger. "A woman is dead, Deshawn. Wanna tell us why we shouldn't charge you with murder?"

"What? I didn't kill nobody!" he said. "I just wanted the money. It was too good to pass up. I didn't know anybody would get hurt."

"What exactly did you think a total stranger wanted with your cab?" Jane asked, her anger boiling over. Deshawn just shook his head. She pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket. "This is a warrant. We're impounding your cab, and we're contacting HCU to see how many taxi regulations you violated. If it were up to me, you wouldn't drive anything bigger than a riding lawn mower ever again."

Jane shoved the warrant into Deshawn's chest and she and Korsak left the cab company. As they approached the car, Jane's cell phone rang.

"Rizzoli," she answered. Then she closed her eyes and leaned back against the car as she spoke to Korsak. "Constance. I was hoping we'd get Maura back before I'd have to deal with her." Jane spoke into the phone again. "Put her through."

Korsak waited and listened to Jane's side of the conversation. She was doing her best to keep her cool when talking to Maura's mother.

"This is Detective Rizzoli," she began. "Yes, Constance, I'm sorry you had to find out that way. No, there's really nothing you can do. We are doing everything we can to find Maura. I think we're getting closer to getting her back. I promise you that I will call you as soon as we do. I apologize again."

After a pause, Jane said goodbye and looked to Korsak.

"Let's go," she said. "That's a promise I want to keep sooner rather than later."

* * *

><p>A half hour later, Frost and Frankie had made significant progress, and the group gathered to go over their findings.<p>

"Rachel was adopted when she was 7. Richard was not," Frost began.

"So they got separated," Jane commented. "Did Richard ever get adopted?"

"No, he ended up bouncing around from foster home to foster home for a while," Frankie explained. "When he was 14 he ended up in a group home for foster kids and he stayed there until he was 18."

"Then he was on his own," Korsak surmised. "What did he do then?"

"He joined the Army," Frankie answered. Frost pulled up Richard Walker's official military photo. "He did tours in Desert Storm, more recently in Afghanistan. Last year he was honorably discharged."

"What for?" Jane asked. She knew they were headed in the right direction.

"PTSD is the official word," Frost replied. "But get this, in his last tour in Afghanistan, Richard was assigned to the bomb disposal unit."

"You gotta know the bomb to get rid of the bomb," Korsak commented. "He would definitely have the knowledge to set up the bomb on Maura's car."

"We're getting somewhere," Jane said. "What about Rachel?"

"She grew up with the family that adopted her. Her last name changed to Morris," Frost explained. "She became a nurse and works at Boston General."

Frost had put Rachel's college photo up next to Richard's military photo. She looked very much like the woman who delivered the flowers. Jane looked at them and thought about family. People will do anything for family.

"Did they keep in touch with each other?" she asked.

Frankie shook his head and shrugged. "We can't really tell. We'd probably have to talk to Rachel's adoptive family for that."

"All right, we need to split this up," Jane said. "Korsak, go to the hospital and see if you can find Rachel. Frankie, go talk to the Morrises. Frost, check Rachel's home address. I'll take Richard's last known address."

The four of them dispersed, hoping against hope that one of them would follow their lead to Maura.


	6. Chapter 6

Rachel had left the house to buy more first aid supplies. After what Richard had done, she didn't feel good about leaving the house, but she knew she had to. They didn't have enough supplies in the house. She went to the local drugstore and picked out everything she needed. She wished she had access to sufficient pain killers. She hated that Dr. Isles was suffering.

She took all her items to the cash register and watched the clerk ring them up. The clerk had a radio playing and a news report was talking about the bomb outside the police station.

"Police have confirmed the vehicle that was the focal point of the blast belonged to Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles, but that the woman killed in the blast was not Dr. Isles."

Rachel's heart stopped. Had she heard what she thought she heard? They said a woman was killed in the bombing.

"Police have not revealed the identity of the woman killed in the blast, and they continue to search for Dr. Isles, who remains missing at this time. We will provide updates on this story as it develops. In sports news..."

Rachel couldn't believe it. Richard had broken his promise. A woman was already dead, and she had played some role in it by helping him with this entire plan. She stood at the counter in shock, not even noticing that the cashier had given her the total due.

"Ma'am, it's $33.79," the clerk repeated. Rachel was flustered. The man in line behind her was getting impatient and looking at his watch. She quickly pulled out her wallet and paid. Then she grabbed her purchases and rushed back to her car.

When she sat in the driver's seat, she slumped down and just sat there for a moment processing what she had just learned. A woman was already dead. She thought about Richard and how he had been increasingly angry. Dr. Isles had called it psychopathic behavior. He had betrayed her and killed a woman without her knowledge. She couldn't trust him to not do the same to Dr. Isles. It was over, and she had to stop him.

* * *

><p>Jane pulled up outside Richard Walker's last known address and stared at the front of the house. It was a pretty ordinary house, not all that different than the house she grew up in. The neighborhood was quiet, full of blue collar families like hers. The house looked empty. Part of her just wanted to storm in. Maura could be in there. She had to restrain herself. She exited her car, and as she walked around the front she noticed the garage. It was closed, but it made her wonder. Was there a van in there?<p>

She looked around to see if anyone noticed her, unlatched the safety strap on her gun holster, and quietly headed toward the garage. There were no windows on the door. She headed around the side of the garage through a narrow space between the building and privacy fence. She rested her hand on the grip of her gun and then looked through a side widow. It was dirty and hard to see through, but through one corner she caught a glimpse of the white van. She sucked in a breath and then quickly headed back to her car, still making sure she wasn't noticed. She sat in the driver's seat and texted the others. Maura had to be there.

In a car up the street, Jane hadn't noticed Rachel Morris, who had pulled up as Jane approached the garage. Rachel watched Jane and knew it was over. This was her way out. After learning that her brother had already killed a woman, she had the avenue of ending this right in front of her. She watched Jane go back to her car, and then Rachel exited her own car. She walked toward Jane's car, unsure how to approach this without provoking Jane to shoot her.

After texting the others, Jane glanced up and saw Rachel Morris in her rear view mirror. Jane immediately jumped out of the car and pulled her gun, training it on Rachel. When she saw the gun, Rachel stopped moving and raised her hands.

"I'm unarmed, Detective Rizzoli," she said. "I-I want to help you stop my brother."

"Why?" Jane asked, unsure if she should trust Rachel. This could be a trap.

"He lied to me. He broke promises," she replied. "He said that he wouldn't cause serious harm to Dr. Isles."

"I'd say severing her thumb was pretty serious," Jane said in anger.

"He did that without my knowledge, and I tried to slow the bleeding as much as possible," she said. Her voice was starting to shake with emotion. "But then I just found out that a woman died in the car bomb. He said Paddy Doyle was the only one who would die. But he killed that woman-"

"Dr. Hope Martin," Jane said, knowing that fact would strike a nerve because it hadn't been released to the public yet. Rachel's eyes widened in shock. She knew who Hope Martin was.

"Oh god, I didn't want this," she said. She was near tears and Jane was starting to believe this wasn't a trap. She lowered her gun but didn't holster it. "It got out of control. Richard is out of control. I want to help you save Dr. Isles."

Jane holstered her weapon and opened the back door of her car. She gestured for Rachel to sit and then she looked around.

"Where is your brother?"

"He's in the house," she replied. "Dr. Isles is in the basement."

"All right, I have back-up on the way here," Jane explained. "When they get here, you're going to draw your brother out of the house so we can arrest him and save Dr. Isles."

"How will I get him out here?" Rachel asked.

"Not sure," Jane said. "We'll think of something."

By the time Korsak, Frankie, and Frost arrived, Jane and Rachel had agreed on a plan to get Richard out of the house. The others were shocked to see Rachel sitting in Jane's car.

"What's going on?" Frankie asked.

"Rachel turned herself in," Jane explained. "She's going to help us get Richard out of the house so we can get to Maura."

"Are you sure that's wise, Jane?" Korsak asked, not sure they could trust the woman who helped kidnap Maura.

"Got a better idea?" she asked. Rachel stood, knowing she should head in soon. She had been away longer than intended. "Remember, keep it simple. Let him exit the house first. That way he can't grab you if he panics."

"I don't think he would hurt me," Rachel said, not believing that her brother could use her as a hostage.

"You also didn't think he would hurt Maura or kill anyone but Paddy," Jane said, trying to help Rachel keep things in perspective. "You can't trust him right now. He's under stress. He could do anything."

"Okay," Rachel agreed.

"If you're not out in five minutes, we're coming in," Frost said, not thrilled with this plan. He gestured to Frankie to follow him.

The group approached the house, detectives with guns drawn. Jane and Korsak followed Rachel up the stairs, taking position at opposite ends of the porch. Frankie and Frost crouched down on either side of the porch stairs. When everyone was in position, Rachel approached the door and looked to Jane, who nodded her head to proceed.

Inside the house, Rachel didn't see Richard immediately. She moved into the kitchen and saw the basement door was open.

"Richard, I'm here," she called. "Could you come help me with my car?"

He stomped up the stairs and she worried about what he had done to Maura while she was gone. He didn't look pleased.

"What's wrong with your car?"

"I was going to get some more gauze and stuff to take care of the mess you made with Dr. Isles. I was halfway to the drug store when it started sputtering," she said, doing her best to keep up the bluff.

"Do we really need to do this now?" he asked as he headed for the door.

"I need to keep her wound clean."

She let him lead just as planned. When he opened the door and stepped onto the porch, the detectives made their move. They yelled for him not to move and to put his hands up. He turned back toward Rachel, but she shut the door in his face and locked it to make sure he didn't try to escape into the house. She leaned against the door and cried.

"It's over, Walker," Frost said as Richard looked from one detective to the other.

Frankie and Frost had the stairs blocked while Korsak and Jane flanked him. He thought about charging at the two on the stairs but thought better of it when he thought about the odds of being shot by the other two.

"On your knees with your hands on your head," Frankie ordered.

Richard obliged and Frost did the honors. Once Jane was convinced he was secure, she knocked on the front door.

"Rachel, it's clear. Open up."

The door opened and Rachel stepped onto the porch. Richard glared at her, looking just as betrayed as Rachel had felt when she found out he killed Hope Martin. She watched sadly as Frost dragged Richard back to his car. Rachel was surprised by the sympathy she saw in Frankie's eyes as he grabbed her by the arm in order to take her into custody as well. She had known it would happen, but it still felt like a surprise when he placed the handcuffs on her wrists.

Jane and Korsak wasted no time heading into the house to find Maura. Jane found the stairs to the basement quickly and headed down. When she reached the bottom she was taken aback by the scene before her. The video didn't do justice to the damage Richard did to Maura. Jane saw the blood on the floor for the first time and felt heartsick. Maura appeared to be unconscious, still tied like before with her mouth covered with tape. Jane hurried forward while Korsak called for an ambulance.

"Maura," she said as she crouched down and grabbed the edge of the tape. When she pulled it off, it roused Maura somewhat. She moaned quietly. "Help is on the way, Maura."

"Jane," Maura said. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"Yeah, I'm right here," Jane said as she worked on untying the ropes.

"You look tired," Maura said. Jane smiled, relief finally washing over her now that she had a feeling her friend would be okay.

"Right back at ya," she said. Maura's head nodded and Jane focused on getting her friend untied, feeling extremely glad that this day was finally over.

* * *

><p>Jane walked into Maura's hospital room the next morning after finally getting some sleep. Maura appeared to be getting some much needed sleep as well. The bruises on her face were still very prominent, and there were angry red marks on her neck where Richard had used the stun gun. Her left hand was heavily bandaged and resting on a pillow. Jane was surprised to see Constance sitting bedside and holding Maura's good hand. Angela was also there, conversing with Constance quietly. She looked over at Jane and exchanged a relieved smile. Jane set the vase of flowers she bought in the hospital gift shop on a table near the door.<p>

"Hey, Ma," Jane said. She leaned over to give her mother a hug. Then she looked to Maura's mother. "Constance, when did you get here?"

"About 2 a.m. I caught the first flight out of Heathrow after we spoke on the phone," she replied.

Jane had kept her promise to call as soon as they found Maura, but she had only gotten voicemail. Now she knew why.

"I want to apologize again for how you found out about this," Jane said. "It wasn't really my intention to keep you in the dark."

"Apology accepted," she responded. "Besides, your mother told me how tirelessly focused you were on finding Maura, and I'm extremely grateful for that."

"Me too," Maura said as she began to wake up. Constance turned back to her and held Maura's right hand between both of her own. Maura looked up, surprised to see her mother there. She hadn't quite connected the voice with the person when she heard her speak. "Mom?"

"Yes, dear," she responded. "I caught a flight almost as soon as I heard."

"Should I even ask how you are?" Jane asked Maura.

"I've been better," she replied. "But I'll live."

"What about your thumb?" Jane asked, gesturing to her bandaged hand.

"The doctor said that there might be nerve damage but that it would still be functional," Constance interjected.

"It should be okay. I guess I'm just glad I'm not left-handed," Maura said.

"I'm glad you're not no-handed," Jane joked. "I was afraid of what they were going to cut off next. I really don't like getting my friend's body parts in the mail."

"I really don't like having my body parts mailed to my friends," Maura countered.

"Touché," Jane said with a smirk.

"What's going to happen to Rachel?" Maura asked. Misguided as she was, Rachel did try to help her in the end.

"The prosecutor is going to work a plea with her for testimony against her brother," Jane explained. "Get her on reduced charges and maybe she won't have to do much time."

"She's willing to testify against her brother?" Angela asked, knowing how strong the bonds of family can be.

"She said he betrayed her," Jane replied. "She truly believed Paddy was the only person who would get hurt in all this."

"She did eventually try to help me," Maura commented. "Every time he hurt me, she was there to treat my injuries."

"Yeah, well it would've been better if she had turned herself in _before_ he cut your thumb off," Jane commented. "Instead she was focused on revenge."

"I can understand how she feels," Maura said sadly. "I understand loss."

Jane sat on the edge of the bed and rested her hand on Maura's right knee.

"I'm sorry about Hope, Maura," she said. "Even after everything, I know you wanted to get to know her better."

"I did," Maura said, a slight tremor in her voice. Constance squeezed her daughter's hand between her own, offering whatever comfort she could. She wouldn't admit that it hurt a little to know of the relationship Maura desired with her birth mother. She just wanted to support her. Maura closed her eyes to fight back tears. "Sometimes I wish you had killed Paddy Doyle."

"No, you don't," Jane said without hesitation. Maura opened her eyes, surprised at the quick denial.

"Don't I?"

"No, I know you," Jane replied. "You don't wish people dead. Not even the bad ones."

"It's just..." Maura began, gathering her emotions and her thoughts. "Hope worked in war torn countries. She identified victims of genocide. Yet she had to come back to Boston to be killed in a car bomb."

"Paddy didn't set the bomb," Jane said, not believing that she was saying anything in defense of Paddy Doyle.

"But he did," Maura said. There was a combination of anger and grief in her voice. "He set it thirty-three years ago when he killed Richard and Rachel's father. And it makes me so angry."

"It's okay to be angry," Angela said. "Sometimes a good yell helps me with my anger."

"I have experienced her good yell," Jane said with a smirk. Maura smiled as well.

"I think they frown upon yelling in the hospital, Angela," Maura responded. "But maybe I'll try it when I get out."

The four of them sat in silence for a moment, simply allowing Maura to rest and collect herself. They all knew her well enough to know that sometimes she just needed quiet. It wasn't long before Frankie showed up.

"Maura, how you doing?" he asked with genuine concern.

"I'll be okay," she replied. "Thank you for helping find me."

"What else are cop friends for?" he asked with a smile. Then he turned to Jane, his expression becoming serious. "Jane, can I talk to you in the hall?"

"What is it?" Jane asked.

"I just figured we could let Maura rest and not talk shop in front of her," he said, a lie that didn't really convince any of them.

"It's okay, Frankie," Maura said. "It won't bother me."

He shifted nervously before breaking the news. "Richard Walker is dead."

"What?" Jane asked as she stood. "What the hell happened?"

"It _looks_ like suicide," Frankie said. "Frost and Korsak are looking into it."

"Suicide because he hurt Maura is more like it," Jane scoffed. "Paddy got to him."

"You can't know that," Constance said. "How could he?"

"Paddy has people everywhere," Frankie said. "Jane's right."

"Frankie, where's Rachel? She's in danger," Jane said.

"Still in lock-up. She hasn't made bail yet."

"I have to talk to Paddy," Maura said. The others looked at her like she was out of her mind. "I can convince him to stop this insanity."

"That sounds like a really bad idea," Angela said, and for once Jane agreed with her.

"Maura, you're in the hospital. You need to be resting, not convincing your mob boss father to stop ordering hits on people," Jane argued.

"You know he'll listen to me, Jane," Maura said seriously. "I may be the only person he will listen to."

Jane sighed in defeat. As usual, Maura was right. A half hour later Frankie and Korsak were keeping Rachel Morris safe while Jane and Frost set up a video call between Paddy Doyle and Maura. Frost was at the prison with Paddy while Jane stayed at the hospital with Maura. Maura's nurse wasn't thrilled with these events and she insisted that there were far too many people in the room at one time. Angela suggested she and Constance go get breakfast, and Jane was very relieved that they were gone for the call to Paddy.

"Maura, good to see you're okay," Paddy said, his relief actually evident in a rare moment of vulnerability.

"As okay as you would expect after I've been used as a tool of revenge against you," she said, not hiding the bitterness in her tone. It took all her energy to retain composure as she continued. "Hope Martin is dead. I was kidnapped and tortured. All because of you. Do you feel _any_ remorse for the harm you've caused?"

"I'm sorry that you've been hurt."

"That's not good enough," Maura said. "And now another young man is dead because of you. I'm tired of watching you ruin lives."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he responded, putting his guard back up.

"We're not trying to get you to admit to murder, Paddy," Jane said angrily. "Just shut up and listen to what Maura has to say."

"I want you to call off whoever you were planning to send after Rachel Morris," Maura said. "I won't be a party to more death. It has to stop."

Paddy contemplated what Maura had said for a moment. He didn't look happy about Maura's request. When people hurt your family, you hurt them back. That was the values system he had lived with his whole life. Finally he nodded his head.

"Fine. The girl's safe," he said. "Consider it a birthday present."

"Thank you," Maura said.

"Happy birthday, Maura," Paddy said. Maura sighed in disgust and shut the laptop

"Some birthday wish you had there," Jane commented.

"Would you like to know what my true birthday wish is?" Maura asked. Jane nodded her head. "I wish to never have to deal with Paddy Doyle again."

"I will do everything in my power to make that wish come true," Jane said with a smile. Maura smiled back and closed her eyes, exhausted from everything that had happened over the past 48 hours. Jane moved the hospital table out of the way and sat on the edge of the bed, facing Maura. "You know, you were really brave in all this."

"Are you kidding?" Maura asked in disbelief, opening her eyes again. "I was terrified."

"You still had the presence of mind to send a message to us by _blinking Morse code_. Without your clues..." Jane trailed off, shaking her head and not wanting to say what might have happened if they hadn't found her. Maura understood by the look on Jane's face. "You did good. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," Maura said, gripping Jane's hand with her right hand.

Jane suppressed a laugh as a thought came to her. "If I have a girl, I'm going to name her after you."

Maura chuckled and looked to her friend in disbelief. "I'm honored, but no, you're not."

"You're right, I'm not," Jane said with a laugh. "Maura Rizzoli doesn't really have the right ring to it."

"So you're not going to tell Casey?" Maura asked, noting the implication of Jane giving the baby her maiden name. Jane shrugged her shoulders.

"I still haven't decided."

"You know what would be a strong name for a girl? Beatrice," Maura said with a thoughtful look.

"Yeah, if she's 80-years-old."

"Or how about Edith? It means 'blessed.'" Jane couldn't contain her laughter.

"Do you want her to get beat up every day at the playground?" Jane asked. "I'm not naming my kid Edith."

"What? It's a classic name."

"It's a grandma name!"

"Edith Piaf was a well-known, French singer," Maura said trying to make the case for her name selection.

"Edith Bunker was a well-known, not-so-bright wife of a racist, misogynistic jerk," Jane countered.

"She was also fictional," Maura responded. Jane was surprised she knew anything about _All in the Family_. "You could shorten it to Edie. That's cute."

"I'm saying no to Edith," Jane said with a shake of her head.

The two continued arguing over baby names, hoping to put Paddy Doyle out of their minds for a very long time.

THE END


End file.
